AuthorTopic: vlinstall.iso (Read 7256 times)

For direct install on linux host, documentation says get vlinstall.iso from ftp site install/vlinstall/vlinstall.iso - I haven't managed to locate this so could someone either give me the specific address or mail me a copy of the iso as trying to install any adequate linux distro so far has been a complete failure and I would quite like to see if it's possible to get some kind of decent linux installed without becoming a nerd.

Thanks. I've found the script in a couple of places now. I've run it and it doesn't work. I have DamnSmallLinux as the host o/s, see seperate thread on the script not working with DSL. I tried the option of extracting the kernel(sata) and initrd.img, setting up grub and rebooting to install, it couldn't work with initrd.img. Something else needs doing?

So, I redownloaded VL6.0-STD-Gold.iso, burned to CD, booted the laptop with cd (it only recognises bootable cd about 1 in 5 attempts) and got the message Could Not Find Kernel Image: Linux (after Config file opened).

Tried using the script vinstall-cd, it never gets past the initial message, some other (unspecified) parameters need inputting? This was run from console logged in as root.

DSL is on hda3. I want to install something better onto hda2. Hda1 is swap. I have 30gb hard drive on old pentium pico multimedia laptop.

So far DSL is the only linux that has loaded (from cd) without excessive difficulty. Ubuntu booted but machine spec too low. Alinux, useless, DeLiLinux the same, ArkLinux and ArkLinux live -zippo. Am I really being forced back to windows by the inadequacy of linux distros? As I am tolerably conversant with computer technology I would have to say there is simply no way any linux shows any sign of having any value for an ordinary user.

Irritated,I understand your frustration. I don't know if this will help, but I used the direct install method from a Linux hard drive throughout the VL6 beta cycle and it always worked easily and without errors. My CDRW/DVD drive is getting a bit flaky and I couldn't count on a CD booting, so rather than waste CDs for so many versions I just went ahead with the direct method. Here is what I did:

* Have the vinstall-iso file available. Mine is 4710 bytes, so it's a small file. It should be executable. Check the file attributes in DSL and make it executable if it isn't now. You may have to be root in order to make it executable; it depends on whether root or user owns the file. If this all sounds very geeky, it is, but file ownership and permissions are a basic part of Linux and at some point a user needs to accept that and learn how to manage them.

I manage ownership and permissions with Midnight Commander, but you should be able to do it with any file manager. You can also do it quite simply from the command line, but I can never remember the proper syntax, so I use Midnight Commander. The command to change ownership is chown. The command to change permissions is chmod. If you can't find a way to make the file executable through a DSL file manager, let us know and someone will give you the correct chmod command.

* Once you have vinstall-iso available and it's executable, create a directory called /vinstall. Use your file manager to do this. You can do it from a command line but as usual, I can't remember the sytax, so I use Midnight Commander. You can make this directory just about anywhere, including in your home directory (if you make a directory as user, you must have write permission for where you want to put it, and the only places user has write permission are the user's home directory and the /tmp directory).

* Move the VL6.0-STD-Gold.iso to the /vinstall directory. Be sure you did an md5sum on VL6.0 first. There is no point installing it if there are errors in the file. Be sure you note the path to the /vinstall directory.

* Make sure that /dev/hda2 is unmounted.

* You must install without X running. You can't install from a terminal prompt within the graphical interface. If DSL lets you exit the GUI to a pure console, do that. If it doesn't have a command for that, you should be able to type Control+Alt+F1 and you will be switched to a console login screen. Sign in as root. Then navigate to your /vinstall directory. From the command line, you typecd /path/to/vinstallsubstituting the actual path for /path/to/vinstall. Another way to get to a pure text console is to type this at a terminal prompt in your graphical interface:suPassword: [type your root password]/sbin/init 2

This will restart Linux in text mode. Be sure you shut down your programs and save anything you want before you do the init 2 thing. After Linux restarts, become root and navigate to your /vinstall directory. Be sure /dev/hda2 is not mounted. The df command at a command line will show you what partitions are mounted.

* Now the fun part-- Once you're in the /vinstall directory as root and confirm that VL6.0-STD-Gold.iso is there, type this at the command line:./vinstall-iso VL6.0-STD-Gold.isoand hit Enter. The text mode installation should start. You won't need to repartition or resize your drive if you're happy with the size of /dev/hda2 as it is now. You can use your swap on /dev/hda1 (assuming it's already set as the swap file for DSL).

If you get the installation started with these steps, ask questions here if you run into any difficulties. If the screen goes black while you're installing, that's a screensaver kicking in. Just press the Shift or Control key and the screen picture will come back. Many people have been confused by this and think their computer has hung at that point. Be patient. Some of the installation steps take a long time, particularly on older hardware.

I hope I got all the details right, as I'm writing this from memory. It's easier to do than to describe, especially if you're familiar with file ownership and permissions.

I do want to comment on this:

Quote

Am I really being forced back to windows by the inadequacy of linux distros? As I am tolerably conversant with computer technology I would have to say there is simply no way any linux shows any sign of having any value for an ordinary user.

There is no "inadequacy of linux distros" here. Being unable to boot from a CD is most often due to a CD drive on the way to failure or media that doesn't get along with the drive and rarely some BIOS problem with the way an ISO is configured. CD drives are supposed to be the most common hardware to fail on computers, now that floppy drives have just about disappeared. The vast majority of Linux distros for the vast majority of users boot from CDs just fine.

As for linux having any value for an ordinary user, I'm an ordinary user and I use Linux to do almost everything I want to do with a computer: Web browsing, e-mail, playing music, watching videos, viewing, organizing, and editing photos, managing my music collection, word processing, page layout (Scribus), spreadsheets, presentations, running a few Windows programs under Wine. I don't do games, but there are plenty of games available for Linux and I hear that many Windows games can be made to run under Wine or other compatibility layers. Linux is not my hobby, it's my operating system. I don't have 6 Linux distros installed like some people do because as I said, Linux is not my hobby, it's what I use for what I want to get done.

I'm not a Windows hater by any means, but Linux does offer advantages over Windows. For one big thing, Linux is a more secure operating system and is not plagued with all the viruses and other malware targeted at Windows. Part of that is that Linux has a very small desktop marketshare at this time, but Linux has a more secure design and it's harder to infect a Linux machine. Another plus for Linux is that it is free in the money sense and most Linux software is also free of charge. I know that there is a lot of free software for Windows, too, but it won't be already installed when you first start your system and you'll have to hunt it out and install it on your own. You can download and use the free VL6 ISO on as many computers as you want. You can pay a modest price of under $30 US including postage for the VectorLinux 6 Deluxe CDs and install them on as many computers as you like. VectorLinux is also a savior of older hardware. The 1.3 GHz Celeron on which I'm writing this is pretty obsolete, but VL6 runs like a rocketship on it. In contrast, Windows XP, which is also on this machine, is much more leisurely.

I hope you are successful in installing VL so you can see for yourself the value Linux has for the ordinary user.--GrannyGeek

One of the respondents to the DSL thread I mentioned semms to have done a lot of commenting out of bits of the script which gave him errors, but couldn't detail possible consequences and the other solution offered didn't work for me. I did check the md5sum of the download and it is fine.

I re-did the download of the one I burned to cd and burned and ran the new version (md5sum perfect) and it got to

No ordinary user would want to have to go through all this and spend a couple of weeks trying to get a distro set up, they'd probably just have binned it, or gone and bought a new comp with windows already on, or given it to some tech to set it up for them. Sadly, DSL is just too sparse to do the job I want effectively, I could spend forever trying to get apps set up in a sensible way to perform the particular task I want it to do (rip some unpublished music and put it out over p2p radio) and, here in Spain, the electricity supply has a habit of cutting out every now and then and DSL loses it's set up, very untidy (never a problem with XP).

Hi Nightflier, thank you. Logical explanation I would think? Yes, the laptop does have floppy, I reckon it works, and boot floppy is an option in bios. I've been aware of floppy booters but haven't investigated at all. You presumably think it a good option? How would you use it and what package would you recommend?

I'm sorry it didn't work for you. I see Nightflier has the explanation for the failure.

You're right, most users wouldn't go through all that if they wanted to install a distro. It's an unusual problem, so most users wouldn't encounter it. But it's very offputting for those who do have any kind of installation problem that isn't easily solved.

I hope the installation from a floppy boot works for you.

I once had a computer on which I was unable to install any Linux or use a LiveCD. It would always lock up at the point where it was identifying the hard drive. When the computer failed at the same point on every distro I tried, I figured there was some BIOS incompatibility and gave up. The BIOS was a beta version, the last upgrade for this computer's BIOS, and it was never upgraded. It worked fine with Windows. Its purpose was to add support for drives larger than 32 gigs, which I needed. I later gave that computer away and haven't had such a problem since then.--GrannyGeek

Hi GG - In some respects it would be clearer if each distro failed at the same point, then I'd be clearer as to the solution I was looking for. But DSL went on without too much hassle. The kernel incompatability sounds kind of logical. The VL install from bootable cd failing to load onto the partition seems odd, but it was also created through the DSL installation process. I've done a md5sum check on the ArkLinux I downloaded, it's fine, but won't boot. The fact that cd boot only seems to work about every 5th time with different cd's may be kind of Biosy, not sure. But inconsistency of failure is a tough one to deal with and makes one feel that there is a high level of incompatibility between different flavours of linux and, if the problem with DSL is about kernel versions, then the lack of backwards compatibility.

If I get a package to redo all the partitions will it kill DSL? Ok, I could reload it, but then I've put in work just to get back to where I am now with little indication it would solve this problem. Also, I've opted for VL 6 guessing it has all the latest wizzy stuff, would an earlier VL actually go on easier through the direct load via DSL? Maybe then with the possibility of doing upgrades to bring it forward? But it's uncharted territory for me, guesswork. The answers don't seem that clear

Also, I've opted for VL 6 guessing it has all the latest wizzy stuff, would an earlier VL actually go on easier through the direct load via DSL? Maybe then with the possibility of doing upgrades to bring it forward? But it's uncharted territory for me, guesswork. The answers don't seem that clear.

I'd say that's a bad idea, as you cannot install a previous version of VL and upgrade to a different version. You'll have to install VL6 right from the start.

If I'm following this thread right, the idea would be that perhaps a version of VL with a 2.4 kernel would boot from DSL. However, the last VL with a 2.4 kernel was 5.0 (or something like that), so that's a long time ago and with no new packages being created for it.

How did you install DSL? Did you install grub or lilo? If so you can possibly still install without a floppy by adding the kernel and initrd to the DSL /boot directory and adding the installer to the boot loader. I can give more specific instructions once I know which bootloader you installed.

Hi Caitlyn. DSL has an install to harddrive option from the live cd and that's what I used, not the frugal. It boots from grub. I've copied out the kernel and initrd.img from the VL iso and had them both in hda3 and hda2 to try different ways, and added the grub load command into menu lst. As I said, I've got the cd to boot as far as

I haven't downloaded and used, is it Qparted? to reset partitions because, as I say, DSL is working and reading all partitions fine, suggesting that there isn't a partition problem (suggesting may not be the same as guaranteeing but it seems a reasonable expectation).

And the vinstall-cd didn't get past the initial echo (get VL.... and run again).

I Imagine nightflier is going to suggest a very sparse 2.6 kernel linux from floppy in place of DSL and run the vinstall-iso from it? But that's my guesswork again. As you can see, I'm no techy to know what the possible options or problems might be

Hi Nightflier. Thanks for your kind efforts, I think you are working hard for me?

.img files? Thank you, I have downloaded. Am I to understand that drag and drop copying under windows explorer (XP) is a dubious method of getting the .img to floppy, or can I? Or do I need rawwrite for windows? (I have downloaded a zip but drag and drop seems easier?).

I'll give these a go tomorrow, unless my dinner date cancels tonight :O - Would it be fair to put a dinner date with a young lady ahead of a linux installation? Anyone?

Yes, DSL and Debian, I thought that seemed goodish, haven't used apt-get yet, but kind of loathe to nuke DSL until I've found what really works for me, keeping options open etc. Hoping VL will be it. Very impressed by the support efforts of this forum. Seems an excellent community. I'd guess if people put so much generous effort into helping others then the product itself must be worthy. Sure hope I can get this thing installed